‘Masters of the Universe’ Reboot Loses ‘G.I. Joe’ Director, Goes Back to the Drawing Board

News hit last summer that Jon M. Chu had been chosen to take on the reboot of 'Masters of the Universe,' which previously had been made into a rather terrible movie in 1987 starring Dolph Lungren. But though the project is still in development, Chu (best known for 'Step Up 3D' and 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation') is off the film, and a new writer has been brought on.

That writer, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is Terry Rossio, best known for the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' films, though there he's credited with working on this summer's big bomb 'The Lone Ranger.' He also appears to be working without his usual writing partner Ted Elliot, so perhaps he's branching out. Chu leaving the project is no surprise as Paramount seems to want him to direct 'G.I. Joe 3,' or possibly 'Star Trek 3.'

And as dumb as a 'Masters of the Universe' film might be, the 'Transformers' and 'G.I. Joe' movies have shown that there is a sizable audience for adaptations of toys that people grew up with, and so it makes sense that this is still being considered for a big budget adaptation. Currently Hasbro (though they misstepped with 'Battleship') dominates this field, which would make them the Marvel to Mattel's DC. And with Rossio on board, it means they want someone who can deliver a tentpole. But at this rate we'd guess the soonest this could hit theaters is in 2016.